Effects of martensite-austenite constituent on crack initiation and propagation in inter-critical heat-affected zone of high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steel

Abstract

Crack susceptibility of martensite-austenite constituent (MA) in inter-critical heat-affected zone (ICHAZ) is varied with properties of adjacent matrix, hardness of MA, and MA/matrix interfacial characteristics, but reasons why MAs are voided at MA/matrix interfaces or cracked at themselves still remain to be addressed. Effects of microstructural features including MA and matrix composed of granular bainite (GB) and quasi-polygonal ferrite (QPF) on crack initiation and propagation behavior, which affected critical crack tip opening displacement (CTOD), were investigated in this study. In the ICHAZ mainly composed of GB (75.2vol%) and QPF (19.5vol%), together with 5.3vol% of MA, QPF areas were more deformed than GB areas during the interrupted three-point bending tests, while some MAs were voided or cracked as MA areas were also highly deformed. The Nano-indentation test data indicated that the hardness of MA depended on boundary characteristics of nearby matrix, e.g., QPF having high-angle boundaries vs. GB having low-angle boundaries. According to detailed analyses on MA/QPF interface by using an atom probe, C, Mn, Mo, Ni, and Cr atoms were segregated at the MA/QPF interface, whereas Si, Cu, Al, and P were hardly segregated. These results indicated that major alloying elements (C, Mn, Ni, and Cr) were segregated at the MA/QPF interface, which influenced the deterioration of critical CTOD by reducing the mean free path for the crack initiation and propagation.